Ornamental designs that incorporate digital cameras with cellular telephones and a portable computer into a single housing are known in the art. One example of such a design is shown in U.S. Pat. Des. 405,457 issued Feb. 9, 1999, to Kawashima. A cellular telephone is illustrated essentially affixed to the side of a digital camcorder with each unit interfaced to a central processor, yet for all purposes, each component operates independently of the other. This design is deficient in that the capabilities of the three identified components are not functionally integrated and each is unable to take advantage of the features and benefits of the others. Another example is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,917,542 issued Jun. 29, 1999, to Moghadam, et al., which refers to a system and method for digital image capture and transmission. A digital camera containing a short term and long term memory capability is combined with a wireless communication means for transmitting individually captured digital images. The design is effective in determining signal strength and assuring successful transmission of an image, but deficient in that the device does not provide the capabilities of automatic identification, voice communication, or other interactive business functions. Other examples of the wireless transmission of video images are also known in the art. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,132 issued Nov. 28, 1989 to Morris, et al., a security camera is disclosed that captures images and relays those images to remote stations via wireless transmission. However, the Morris patent is directed to the transmission of video images and does not provide users with a range of complementary functionality.
Numerous examples exist showing various portable computer terminals; some with integrated communication means and a means for reading bar codes. These terminals include large on-board memory capacity, allow for the reading of bar codes and subsequent wireless transmission of the decoded information to a remote site. These terminals are deficient in that they are dedicated to the art of automatic identification and do not provide for the cumulative capability of automatic identification, two-way voice communication, transmission of instantly captured digital images, and the conduct of electronic commerce and personal finance activities, and the advantages appurtenant to such a combination.
Methods for augmenting the functionality of mobile telephones are also known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,266 issued Mar. 23, 1999 to Heinonen, et al., discloses a method for using applications in a mobile station. The method requires an application-bearing module, such as a removable PCMCIA memory card, to be physically inserted into and connected with the mobile station or telephone. The application software is then allowed to interact with the mobile station operating system to execute the application. Through this, the on-board memory capacity of the mobile station is effectively increased to allow the inclusion of application software. Unfortunately, this technique also limits the number of applications, and the size of the applications, to only those that can reside fully within the capacity of the removable memory card.
Remote access to or from networked computers is also known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,320 issued Aug. 6, 1996, to Konrad refers to a system for access to remote information services. Employed is the concept of distributed processing wherein the architecture specifically avoids providing functionality to a component that is the primary responsibility of another component and, specifically, envisions that the local host be a local multi-user computer system, a workstation, or a Personal Computer. The disclosed design and architecture precludes user mobility, requires significant computer memory, processing power, detailed user input, and a wired telecommunications interface resident at the local host. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,977 issued Aug. 4, 1998, to Ezekiel, a host computer system is provided containing access to a remote instrument. In response to a request from the control and data acquisition software running on the host system, data acquired by the remote instrument is forwarded to the host system. This system is deficient in that the remote data acquisition instrument acts as a single purpose slave device unable to perform multiple applications or serve as a means of independently activating functions resident on the remote host computer system.